Genesis 15

God was making promises to Abraham. Notice that in the midst of this we see God hinting to a future that would include slavery in Egypt for 400 hundred years. God also says that the people will leave slavery with many possessions. This is an interesting statement when we consider that God is telling Abraham about the great things ahead, yet not everything was going to be great. God's promise for a great future for any of us will not be completely easy without any trouble. Our future with God is not about everything going perfectly in our life on earth, but rather God's faithful presence to get us through the difficulties.

God made a covenant with Abraham. In a covenant, which was a strong agreement, it was common to cut animals in two, set them on two sides and the person to walk between the animals as a sign of their promise. It was like saying "may it be unto me like these animals should I not fulfil my promise." I am personally glad our contracts and agreements today are simply signatures on pieces of paper. God passed through the animals in this case in the form of the smoking firepot. God made a promise that he would keep. This is an unconditional covenant because God is making the promises based on Himself and did not give Abraham "if/then" obligations. God kept His word. God always keeps His word.